@Rainmaker1973

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4h

In Japan, cleanliness isn’t just a duty it’s a reflection of their culture and identity.

https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/2117459251329184117/video/1

@Beilinson_ENG, performed a lung transplant using robotic surgery — without the traditional opening of the chest and ribs. Through several small incisions, surgeons used the robot to connect the transplanted lung to the patient’s blood vessels and airways. The minimally invasive approach is designed to reduce surgical trauma and potentially improve recovery compared with conventional open-chest transplantation. Another remarkable step forward for Israeli medicine.

ISRAEL PERFORMS ITS FIRST ROBOTIC LUNG TRANSPLANT For the first time in Israel, surgeons at Berlin son Hospital,

@Beilinson_ENG, performed a lung transplant using robotic surgery — without the traditional opening of the chest and ribs. Through several small incisions, surgeons used the robot to connect the transplanted lung to the patient’s blood vessels and airways. The minimally invasive approach is designed to reduce surgical trauma and potentially improve recovery compared with conventional open-chest transplantation. Another remarkable step forward for Israeli medicine.

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Oct 31, 2026 Martin Wolf on the World

As Americans prepare to vote in the November 3 midterm elections, the FT’s chief economics commentator Martin Wolf asks what the result will mean for Donald Trump, the future of US democracy and America’s place in the world. In the third of a six-part series, Martin speaks to political scientist and author Barbara F Walter, an expert on civil wars and political violence, about the risk of unrest surrounding the elections. Drawing on her research into countries around the world, Walter explains the warning signs of political violence, and why America’s changing demographics and the struggle to hold on to political power are fuelling divisions. How close is the US to a dangerous tipping point? And can American democracy emerge from the midterms stronger rather than more divided? To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to ‘Martin Wolf on the World’ wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Martin Wolf Producer: Mischa Frankl-Duval Senior producers: Laurence Knight and Edwin Lane Executive producer: Manuela Saragosa Video editor: Richard Topping Senior Audio Engineer: Breen Turner Broadcast engineers: Andrew Georgiades Podcast development: Laura Clarke FT Global Head of Audio: Flo Phillips

Chronicles of Riddick

Prisons Using AI to Predict When Incarcerated People Will Commit Future Crimes

It’s going to “optimize placement of incarcerated individuals.”

By Joe Wilkins

Published Nov 1, 2026 1:10 PM EST

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Michigan is set to deploy a major new AI system to prisons across the state, meant to classify incarcerated people based on “how dangerous they are.”

That’s according to Detroit channel Fox2, which reports that the Michigan Department of Corrections is plowing ahead with an inmate categorization algorithm that will sort people into various housing levels.

In Michigan, incarcerated people are separated into five housing levels according to their security classification. In the past, screenings were performed by a committee of staff appointed by the Warden at each facility. Now, it seems the state wants to outsource that decision — or at least have it be heavily informed by — a non-profit tech company called Recidiviz.

Recidiviz began as a data organization project at Google, meant to “uncover how technology could standardize criminal justice data and improve the system nationwide.” Its AI-integrated software platform is said to perform features like identifying individuals eligible for state-offered programs, reclassification, or release, and coordinate access to resources like transitional housing and employment.

In a press release, MDOC said the Recidiviz software will be used to “optimize placement of incarcerated individuals” starting with a pilot program in a number of men’s facilities beginning in December. The state agency notes that the AI tool is expected to “improve MDOC’s ability to more accurately predict incarcerated individuals’ risk of future violence by approximately 30 percent,” though how the state arrived at that vague figure is unclear.

For incarcerated people, housing designations are extremely consequential, determining which programming and resources they’ll be eligible for, and what kind of population they’ll be housed with for the duration of their sentence.

Setting the state’s rationale aside, the MDOC-Recividiz partnership leaves some major questions unanswered.

What kind of data will be collected, for example, will matter a great deal with regard to the AI system’s accuracy. As a ProPublica investigation into a similar risk-analysis program in Louisiana found, the kind of data being used to classify incarcerated people contained inherent racial and socioeconomic bias.

As a result, Louisiana’s carceral system has become even more cruel and harmful to those earnestly working toward rehabilitation. In one case reported by ProPublica, a blind and wheelchair bound 70-year-old was determined to be a “moderate risk” of reoffending despite having a clean disciplinary record — a classification which results in an automatic loss of eligibility for parole.

While Michigan’s system is geared toward housing assignments rather than parole decisions, it seems highly unlikely that software alone will solve the state’s ongoing corrections crisis — and if Louisiana’s embrace of AI is any example, it could very well make matters far, far worse.

Michigan Department of Corrections was contacted for comment.

More on incarceration: What Are the Ethics of Strapping VR Headsets on Inmates in Solitary Confinement?

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Joe Wilkins

Correspondent

I’m a tech and labor correspondent for Futurism, where my beat includes the role of emerging technologies in governance, surveillance, and labor.

Nov 3, 2026 #america#europe

The US thinks it is the boss, while the West thinks it is the boss too, said American economist and foreign policy expert Jeffrey Sachs. He said the US and Europe are trying to maintain its earlier form of hegemony, and the wars unfolding are results of that mentality.

Watch. #america#europe#america Mint is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by HT Media. The Mint YT Channel brings you cutting edge analysis of the latest business news and financial news. With in-depth market coverage, explainers and expert opinions, we break down and simplify business news for you.

Click here to download the Mint App: https://livemint.onelink.me/MrDS/p0kx… Now make Mint your preferred source on Google and get business & finance updates first. Add here – https://www.google.com/preferences/so… Subscribe to Mint Premium Now: https://www.read.ht/Scaq Subscribe to Mint’s WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va91…

Nov 1, 2026 #documentary#dwdocumentary#dwdocs

Ever more Poles are leaving Germany, while fewer and fewer are moving the other way. Why do they no longer see a future for themselves in Germany? What’s drawing them back to Poland? And what does it all mean for German companies? Philip Panek chose his university with a goal in mind: the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt on the Oder, right on the German-Polish border. When he began his studies, he planned to stay in Germany and build a career there. Now, he’s planning to complete his legal traineeship in Poland. There, he says, he has more than just family and friends waiting for him — he also sees new economic opportunities. Michael Sünkler can also see that Germany is losing its appeal for many Polish workers. The managing director of a transportation company has many employees from Poland. In recent years, however, many have left. For him, the departure of skilled Polish workers is not an abstract political issue — it’s a tangible economic problem. One of those employees is Tomasz. The truck driver has worked in Berlin for over ten years, but rising living costs are taking their toll. Rent and groceries have become significantly more expensive, he says. As soon as his daughter finishes school, he plans to return to Poland with his family. Kamila Gierko and her husband, Zbyszek Perzyna, have already done just that. Six months ago, they moved from Berlin to Szczecin. For years, Germany offered them favorable conditions for self-employment. But bureaucracy and a lack of digital services, along with high taxes and social contributions were increasingly weighing them down. Their experiences in Poland have been very different: More administrative processes are digital, and the tax burden is lower. Germany, they say, has lost its momentum. This report follows people whose real-life decisions reveal more than statistics can. It profiles a law student who wants to start a career and a family in Poland, an entrepreneur fighting to retain every Polish employee he can, a truck driver reassessing the cost-benefit analysis of his life, and a couple who have already moved back to their home country.

https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/2117354060508512547/video/1

Will the US midterm elections bring a blue wave?

Ian Bremmer

November 02, 2026

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In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer shares his predictions for the US midterm elections and what a major Democratic victory could mean for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Ian expects Democrats to flip at least 20 seats in the House and win a 51-to-53-seat majority in the Senate, pointing to Trump’s declining approval ratings and waning enthusiasm among MAGA voters. He says the election will largely come down to turnout, noting that “the level of enthusiasm that MAGA voters have for Trump has fallen off a cliff.”

Ian also expects a peaceful transfer of power, arguing that the likelihood of an effective effort to overturn the results is “close to zero.” A Democratic wave could leave Trump increasingly constrained by congressional opposition, the courts, and a Republican Party looking beyond 2028.

Brussels Sides With Donald Tusk In Poland’s Court Crisis

November 2, 2026

By Rapporteur

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By Elisa Braun

Key Takeaways:

• The European Commission effectively backed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a constitutional crisis after President Karol Nawrocki refused to swear in judges elected by the Tusk-majority parliament and an internal power struggle suspended the PiS-appointed Tribunal president.
• Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath stated the Tribunal must function according to the Polish constitution and EU case law, affirming parliament’s right to make appointments, while Nawrocki denounced the suspension as an unlawful takeover amid weekend protests.
• The standoff has drawn criticism from figures such as Marine Le Pen and Janez Janša and a call for restraint from the U.S. ambassador, intensifying tensions ahead of expected 2027 parliamentary elections.

(Rapporteur) — The European Commission has effectively backed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in an escalating court crisis which lines him up against the country’s nationalist president and his allies.

Protests erupted in Warsaw this weekend amid a dispute related to President Karol Nawrocki’s refusal to swear in top judges elected by parliament, where Tusk’s coalition holds a majority, and an internal power struggle at the Constitutional Tribunal .

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Nawrocki, elected in June 2025 with support from the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, is a staunch opponent of Tusk’s pro-European government, which has pledged to reverse the controversial judicial changes introduced by its predecessors.

“The Polish Constitutional Tribunal needs to be able to function in accordance with the Polish constitution and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU,” Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said in a statement, adding that the national parliament has the right to make appointments.

The Commission’s statement followed Friday’s suspension of tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy – who had been appointed during PiS’s time in government – by judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who said she was taking charge.

Nawrocki denounced the move as an unlawful takeover and visited the tribunal early on Saturday as protesters gathered outside.

“A politician cannot enter a court or tribunal and give orders or intimidate judges, even if he is the president,” Tusk said in an address to the nation on Saturday. Tusk pledged to press ahead with efforts to restore the court’s independence, also denouncing “pro Russian forces worldwide” and “an army of Russian bots” weighing in.

McGrath said that the Venice Commission, a constitutional advisory body, had made clear that appointing judges was parliament’s prerogative in the European Commission statement.

Warsaw in focus

The stand-off has attracted attention elsewhere.

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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose party leader Jordan Bardella met with PiS allies in June, described the suspensions and security deployment as an apparent “forced takeover”, accusing the EU institutions of indifference.

Slovenia’s right wing Prime Minister Janez Janša also condemned the deployment of police to the tribunal, questioning the EU’s democratic standards.

The US ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, called for restraint amid what he described as an “unprecedented confrontation over the government’s use of state power and the independence and authority of a constitutional institution.”

The confrontation has heightened tensions ahead of parliamentary elections expected in fall 2027, pitting Tusk’s government against PiS, which seeks to return to power after losing office in 2023.

About Rapporteur

Rapporteur, formerly EurActiv, is Europe’s expert media organisation for policy and politics. Through deeply reported journalism, trusted expertise and a commitment to engagement with our audiences, we aim to help the people shaping Europe’s future make better decisions.

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